Ignorance is Bliss
by Under The Blackened Sky
Summary: Retrieving Souta from inside the haunted manor, Kagome finds herself trapped inside with no way out. Refusing to be stuck for all eternity, Kagome searches for a way to escape while putting up with a grumpy, pessimistic half demon.
1. Story of the Past

ok, I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I've finally revised this story a bit. I took out a portion of it and I fixed somethings throughout the story. As for those of you who are reading it for the first time, I hope you enjoy this story!

Disclaimer: I own this story, not the characters.

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Ignorance is Bliss

Many many years ago on a night like this, an eighteen-year-old boy was dared to go into the old deserted feudal lord's manor at the edge of the village. The boy's pride would not let him back down and he didn't believe that the manor was even haunted in the first place, so he snuck out when his parents were asleep and met a group of boys in front of it. The one who had dared him had brought several friends along to watch as the boy went inside. The dare was to go into the manors front entrance then find his way to the back exit and walk around the manor back to the group. The boy felt confident and after giving a slight smirk to the group of boys, he ventured inside. The door slid smoothly when he pushed it open and then slid quietly shut again. The boy was seen walking into the darkness before the door shut. The group of boys outside the manor waited for the boy to come back for two hours. There was no sign of him so the boys decided to head home to get some sleep. They would check to see if the boy was back by the morning. The next day, the group of boys went to the boy's hut to see if he had come home. The parents said they hadn't seen him since last night and if they saw him to tell him to come home immediately. The boys agreed and left disappointed, they really wanted to know what it was like inside, but they would have to wait until they saw him again later that day, or maybe tomorrow. The next day came and went and before they knew it, two weeks had passed and the boy had not been seen. His parents were distraught and asked several village men if they would help look for him in the old manor that the group of boys had said was the last place they saw him. They looked everywhere in the manor, but found neither the boy nor any footprints in the dust covered floors that would indicate that he had ever been there. The men were stumped as to where the boy disappeared to. Years went by and life went on. The boy and the dare slowly turned into a ghost story that was told on Halloween when all the little kids dared each other to go inside. Never again had a child disappeared into the manor, but many who had later entered swore that they heard a boy swearing, the sound echoing off the walls eerily. To this day, no one knows what really happened to the boy.

"Pfft, like that really happened," Kagome scoffed, "The least they could have done is given the guy a name!"

"You mean you don't believe the story?" Ayumi asked.

"No, why would I? It's not possible that even his footprints would be gone. Besides, they just made up that story to scare kids away from the manor," Kagome explained.

"You know Kagome, you remind me of the boy that disappeared in the story, he didn't believe that it was haunted either and look what happened to him!" Yuka exclaimed.

"Whatever, it's not like I'm going to go explore the manor anyway. Let's just head home and get ready," Kagome said, not in the mood to argue her point.

"Yeah, so where do you guys want to meet?" Eri asked.

"How about the park?" Ayumi suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kagome agreed before the four parted ways to head home.

It only took three minutes for Kagome to get home and after she got ready it would only take another three minutes to get to the park.

"I'm home," Kagome called as she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for her bedroom.

She quickly took off her clothes and slipped on a pure white dress that fell right above her knees. She managed to attach the pure white wings to the back of her dress after a couple of minutes and then she put on a glittering gold headband in the place of a halo. Kagome put on her glittering gold ballet flats, grabbed her white bag, and headed to the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm leaving now," she informed her mom who was currently warning her little brother Souta not to go into the manor.

"Alright dear, have fun. I trust you know not to mess around by the manor, right?" Kagome's mom asked.

"Yeah, I know. Later," Kagome answered with a roll of her eyes as she headed out of the house.

Kagome ended up being the first one at the park, but she didn't have to wait long for the other three who came shortly after her. Eri had dressed as a tiger, Yuka as a witch, and Ayumi as a princess.

"Alright, you guys ready to go trick-or-treating?" Yuka asked with a grin on her face.

"Yes!" the other three shouted simultaneously.

Three hours later the four were ready to go to Yuka's house to watch scary movies, rest their sore feet, and eat tons of candy. On the way up to the last house, a boy that looked to be about Souta's age ran up to Kagome.

"You're Kagome right?" the boy asked breathing heavily.

"Yes…" Kagome replied uncertainly, wondering why he wanted to know.

"You need to come to the manor quickly, I just saw Souta go in there!" the boy told her impatiently.

"Oh my god, Kagome we have to save your brother before he disappears like the boy in the story!" Eri exclaimed, "Come on, run!"

"I can't believe Souta went there after he's been told every year to never go there!" Kagome exclaimed before putting a hand to her head, "I'm sure he's just fine but let's get over there quickly so I can make sure of it."

They made it to the manor several minutes later panting and out of breath. A group of boys talked amongst themselves outside the manor. The newly arrived group approached them to see if there was any news about Souta.

"Is Souta still inside? Did you see him yet? Is he okay?" the boy that brought the girls here asked all at once.

"Yeah, he's still in there; we haven't seen him come around the back yet. I hope he's okay," one boy from the group answered with a worried glance at the manor.

"I'll go get him," Kagome volunteered, then jogged to the entrance of the manor before anyone could object.

Kagome slowly pushed the door open to see a small vacant room with another door at the back. She stepped inside and started to follow the footprints in the dust that would lead her to her brother. Two things happened when Kagome stepped inside. The first thing is that she felt a weird sensation, but she shook it off to focus on finding her brother. The other thing is that several lights appeared on the walls. It seemed to be small bowls filled with oil with a wick sticking out. A small flame danced at the tip of the wick, but the fact that they had lit themselves unnerved Kagome a little. Despite the fear, Kagome kept following the footprints, determined to find her brother. Halfway through the room the still opened entrance door slid shut and Kagome looked back nervously before shoving the incident to the back of her mind to think about later.

Kagome exited the empty room to find herself in a hallway lined with many doors to both her left and right. More lights were lit here as well, but they were not bright enough for her to discern which direction the footprints led. Kagome decided that maybe if she could find the exit quickly, she could find Souta as well. After about ten minutes of wandering around, Kagome entered a room that had a door on the other side of it. She went to the door and slid it open to hear crickets chirping and to see the moon partially obscured by some clouds.

Kagome looked down at the floor to find no footprints meaning Souta was still in the manor somewhere. Upon hearing the unmistakable sound of feet pounding against the wooden floor, Kagome spun around just in time to see a flushed and excited Souta come running into the room.

"Souta, what has Mom told you about going into the manor?" Kagome reprimanded, hands on her hips.

Souta did not answer; in fact, he didn't even glance in her direction as he raced past her and out the open door. Kagome, confused, turned to follow him, but the open door slid shut immediately. She ran to the door and pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge. She wouldn't have to wonder why for long because as she felt goose bumps rise on her arms, a masculine voice spoke from behind her.

"Now what's he thinking?" the voice asked.

Kagome slowly turned around to see a tall man with silver hair, golden eyes, and a crescent moon in the middle of his forehead.

"Ah, I see now. You look just like her, though he probably thinks you are her, foolish little brother," the man mused before turning around and walking off.

"Wait!" Kagome called out.

The man stopped and turned around with an eyebrow raised.

"Who are you and what's going on?" Kagome asked.

"My name is Sesshomaru and as for what's going on, you can ask my brother that himself, he's the one that did this to you in the first place," Sesshomaru answered, heading off before Kagome could ask where this brother of his was.

As soon as Sesshomaru was no longer visible, it seemed to get even creepier. _Well, at least Souta made it out okay. Now I have to find this guy__'__s brother in this old manor. I don__'__t even have a clue as to where I should look for him. Oh well, it__'__s not like I can go anywhere else._ Kagome sighed before dragging herself out of the room and into the hallway. Instead of checking in every single room, Kagome decided to just walk quietly and listen for signs of life. Of course, that wouldn't help if he was sleeping or not making any movement, but she didn't feel like doing a full-blown search.

"Oomph!" a muffled voice came from the room she had just passed.

Kagome stopped and went back to the room, sliding the door open slowly. In the room was a mat that was used as a bed back in the era the manor had been built, a wooden chest, and a boy covered in old books. Kagome smothered a laugh as the silver-haired dog-eared boy looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"What are you laughing at?" the boy rudely demanded.

"You!" Kagome managed to say before bursting out into another fit of laughter, not in the last bit put off by his attitude.

"Keh, stupid wench!" he grumbled as he pushed the books off of himself and started stacking them into a pile again.

"So, I hear you're the one that can answer my questions," Kagome said when her laughter died down.

"I guess that means you met Sesshomaru already," the boy stated as he placed the stack of books on the chest.

"Yes, your brother told me that you're also the one that trapped me in here," Kagome's smile quickly turned into a frown.

"And what if I did?" the boy asked turning around to face her.

"Then you better let me out!" Kagome crossed her arms.

"How do you know that I can even do that?" the boy crossed his arms as well.

"You had the power to trap me in here, so you have the power to free me!" Kagome glared.

"Yeah, well, think again," he said while picking up another stack of books and placing them on the chest.

"WHAT?" Kagome screamed, forcing the boy's ears to flatten against his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the sound of a scream, Sesshomaru paused in his readings. He chuckled. _This will be entertaining._ Sesshomaru then continued to read.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you trying to make me deaf?" a very irritated boy asked while covering his ears.

"Did you think I was going to be calm when you told me you trapped me in here, but are unable to free me?" Kagome demanded, but continued before he could answer, "Yeah, I'm just so happy that I'll never be able to see my family or friends again. Thanks so much. Is that what you expected me to say? Why did you even trap me here in the first place?"

"Does the name Kikyo ring any bells?" the boy asked.

"No," Kagome answered looking confused.

"Doesn't matter, all you need to know is that you're her reincarnation and that means you have the same soul. Kikyo's the one who trapped me in here and for that she deserves to suffer and since you share a soul, Kikyo is going to suffer for eternity," the boy bitterly glared at a thoroughly shocked Kagome.

"You mean I'm trapped here because I'm supposedly a reincarnation of this Kikyo?" Kagome choked out.

The boy simply nodded, ears flattened against his head apparently expecting another scream. Kagome sucked in a breath and slowly let it out, calming herself. _I need to calm down and get some more answers. Maybe he can__'__t free me, but there must be another way. There has to be another way._

"You are going to answer some questions now," Kagome's face had turned stony as she coldly glared at him.

The boy, slightly intimidated, nodded even though she didn't ask, but demanded.

"Let's start off with names. I'm Kagome. KA-GO-ME, not Kikyo. What's your name?"

"Inuyasha."

"Why couldn't Souta see me?"

"Once you set foot in here, you became trapped and invisible to everyone outside the manor."

"Is there any possible way to get free?"

"Not unless you can raise the dead. Only Kikyo can undo the spell that traps us all in here."

"If Kikyo's the one who did this to you, how come you could trap me?"

"All I have is the power to trap others, but she didn't tell me that, I had to figure it out for myself, hence Sesshomaru being stuck here."

"So you didn't mean to trap Sesshomaru here?"

"I didn't say that. I'm glad that bastard has to suffer too!"

"Jeez, chill. So, you gave up trying to get out; there has to be another way."

"Don't you think I would've tried to get out of here if there was another way? This isn't exactly a picnic for me either."

"Well, I'm not going to give up yet. I'll find a way out of here, I promise you that!" Kagome declared before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.

"Impossible," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome, tired and angry, went to search for another room with a mat. She found one some distance down the hallway from Inuyasha's room. The room was sparse containing only a mat and two chests in which one held blankets. Kagome took one of the blankets and started dusting things off. She then grabbed another blanket and laid down on the mat, she needed to think.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha lay on his mat, wide-awake and uncomfortable. After tossing and turning for a half hour, Inuyasha threw off his blankets and left his room. He was walking past Kagome's new room when he paused. He heard her crying softly and figured she probably missed her family. A surge of guilt swept over him, but he pushed it down and clenched his fists. True he wanted Kikyo to suffer like he had to all these years, but maybe, just maybe, Kagome could find a way to free them all since, after all, she _was_ Kikyo's reincarnation. Inuyasha continued down the hallway.

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Please review even if it's only a few words. Let me know if you like it or if there is something missing. Constructive criticism is welcome!


	2. A New Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Obviously.

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The next morning, Kagome woke up and stretched her stiff limbs. It was weird; when she was crying last night, she could've sworn she heard footsteps outside her door. _Oh well, no use dwelling over it now._ Kagome got up and headed to Inuyasha's room. She was hungry and hopefully Inuyasha would show her to where they ate. She knocked on Inuyasha's door, but there was no answer so she just opened the door. Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. Kagome left his room and began wandering down corridors using her method from yesterday of just listening for a sign of life as she passed each room.

She jumped when she heard a bang from a few rooms down. Kagome smiled; the bang sounded like two pots striking each other which meant it must be where they eat. Sure enough, when Kagome slid the door to the room open, Inuyasha was holding a pan in his hand while closing a drawer in which there were several pots and pans. He was walking over to what looked like a campfire. Next to the fire was a basket with several eggs inside. He looked up when she entered.

"Hey," Inuyasha said warily, still remembering their talk yesterday.

"Good morning," Kagome said cheerfully, holding in a laugh at the suspicious look on Inuyasha's face.

He scrunched his eyebrows looking at her funny before asking, "Are you bi-polar?"

"No, why do you ask?" Kagome questioned innocently.

"Because, yesterday you were angry at me and now you're all cheerful," Inuyasha explained as he started cracking eggs in the pan, which was now sitting on a metal rack that held it above the fire.

"Oh, that. Well, I decided last night that there was no point in us arguing the whole time I will be here, so the matter will be dropped until we all get out of here and I can punish you properly for doing this to me," Kagome said, all the while smiling sweetly, but Inuyasha caught what she implied and gulped. Kagome could be scary.

"So, are we having eggs for breakfast?" Kagome changed the topic.

"Yeah, but you have to make your own eggs; I'm not a servant," Inuyasha gruffly replied.

"Okay," Kagome agreed with a smile as she headed over to multitude of chests.

Kagome searched through the drawers and eventually found all the items she had been looking for. She brought everything over to the fire and set it down. She had a bowl, eggs, pepper, chopsticks, a spatula, salt, and a plate. As Inuyasha continued to cook his eggs, Kagome cracked a few eggs into the bowl, sprinkled in some pepper, and stirred the mixture together with her chopsticks. When Inuyasha finished, Kagome poured the mixture into the pan, and continued to cook her scrambled eggs. By the time Kagome finished cooking her scrambled eggs and put them on a plate, Inuyasha had already devoured all his eggs and was just sitting there looking annoyed. Kagome ate her eggs silently as Inuyasha just sat there staring at the door tapping his fingers impatiently. _Is he waiting for me to finish?_

Kagome had just finished eating when the door slid open revealing two people Kagome had never seen before.

"Took you long enough," Inuyasha griped as he stopped his tapping.

"Sorry, I overslept," the boy explained. The boy had brown hair that was tied in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, a pair of jeans, a purple t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers on. He also held a bag in his left hand.

"Whatever, just start cooking, I'm still hungry," Inuyasha complained.

"You're always hungry," the other person, a girl, retorted. She had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a pair of low-rise jeans, a pink tank top, and a pair of pink, glittery ballet flats on.

"So, who's this lovely lady?" the boy asked as he looked Kagome over.

"This _annoying wench_ is Kagome," Inuyasha rudely introduced.

"At least I can carry a stack of books without having them topple all over me," Kagome shot back at Inuyasha.

"Feh," Inuyasha huffed as he crossed his arms.

The boy approached Kagome and kneeled down so their faces were level. He grabbed her hands and looked her in the eye.

"Will you do me the honor of bearing my child?" the boy asked looking completely serious.

SLAP! BAM! WHACK!

"PERVERT!"

They had all ended up hitting him and calling him a pervert at the same time much to Kagome's amusement.

"You all wound me so," the boy said before rubbing his sore head.

"Sorry about the lecher," the girl apologized, "Oh, and I'm Sango."

"Hi Sango, I'm Kagome; it's nice to meet you," Kagome greeted, "and it's…_interesting_ to meet you…." Kagome left her sentence hanging.

"Miroku," the boy supplied grinning at her.

"That's great, now everyone knows each other. Can you get my food cooking today?" Inuyasha grumbled glaring at Miroku.

"Always so impatient," Miroku muttered as he pulled a package of bacon, sausage links, and shredded potatoes out of the bag.

As Miroku started cooking the rest of breakfast, Kagome filled Sango in on why she was here. By the end of the explanation, both girls were glaring at Inuyasha who sat leaning against the wall glaring back.

"Food's ready," Miroku announced.

Inuyasha got up and filled a plate with bacon, sausage, and hash browns, all the while not saying a word. The girls did the same.

"Such animosity, how about we all just enjoy the meal and relax?" Miroku suggested.

"Fine," Kagome gave in.

"Yeah, I guess," Sango agreed before looking at Inuyasha pointedly, "I'll be talking to you later!"

"Keh, I don't care," Inuyasha blew off her comment.

"So Kagome, what are you planning on doing today? Exploring?" Miroku asked, trying to change the subject.

"Something like that," Kagome answered, "I'm going to find a way out of here."

"Well, I've got nothing going on today; I'll help!" Sango stated.

"If Sango's going to be here helping, then I'll stay and help too," Miroku declared. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, I really grateful for your help," Kagome told them before continuing, "There are some things I want to ask, though. How come you can see us? You can't be trapped in here because you brought in food, but yet you can see us."

"Oh, that. Didn't Inuyasha tell you?" Sango asked, but then continued when Kagome shook her head no, "Well, you see when Inuyasha was trapped in here, it's not like he had a limitless supply of food, so two select families had to bring him food. The…person who trapped Inuyasha in here did another…spell so that the two families and all their descendants would be able to see those trapped inside, but not able to get trapped themselves. The two families chosen were my ancestors' family and Miroku's ancestors' family, but our ancestors were sworn to secrecy so nobody could tell anyone else, not even the parents of those who were trapped."

"Wow," Kagome breathed, "that explains a lot."

Kagome still had some questions, especially involving the person that trapped Inuyasha in here, but by the way Inuyasha was glaring at Sango the whole time she was explaining, she thought better of asking in front of him.

"So, where should we start looking?" Miroku asked once everybody had finished eating.

"Well, I have a couple questions first about Kikyo that will help us know where to look," Kagome said before turning to Inuyasha and continuing, "Whose home was this before you became trapped here?"

"It was the home of some Priest, don't know his name, but many priests and priestesses came her to train under him, one priestess being Kikyo," Inuyasha answered.

"So, did Kikyo use some kind of spell she learned here to trap you inside?" Kagome inquired.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied.

"Were you trapped inside when the Priest still lived here?" Kagome questioned.

"No," Inuyasha scoffed, "the Priest and all the others training under him left to protect a neighboring village from a massive demon attack. They managed to kill all the demons, but none of the priest and priestesses survived."

"Hmm, so everything inside the manor is left from the priests and priestesses?" Kagome asked.

"Mainly, yeah," Inuyasha responded.

"Ok, let's start off with searching the Priest's old room," Kagome said as she got up, "Inuyasha, lead the way."

"Fine," Inuyasha answered before heading out the door all the while mumbling under his breath about 'delusional wenches who thought they were so smart.'

They headed towards a hallway that Kagome hadn't been in before and a door ahead of them opened revealing Sesshomaru. He left his room and headed the opposite way they were going.

"Little brother," Sesshomaru acknowledged.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha sneered.

"Sesshomaru, good to see you!" Miroku greeted cheerfully. Sesshomaru glared and kept walking.

"Jeez, no need to be so rude; don't you agree my dear Sango?" Miroku asked as his hand wandered.

"PERVERT!" Sango yelled smacking Miroku upside the head, "Keep your hands to yourself!"

"I can't help it dear Sango, my hand is cursed," Miroku explained not regretting his actions at all.

"The only thing cursed here is your mind! Get it out of the gutter you letch!" Sango exclaimed.

Kagome sweat-dropped and sped up a little to be walking closer to Inuyasha and farther away from Miroku's 'cursed' hand.

"Is he always like this?" Kagome asked, pointing towards Miroku.

"Yeah, so you might as well get used to it because your little search isn't going to find anything to get us out of here," Inuyasha answered bitterly.

"You need to stop being so negative because I'm going to find a way and prove you wrong," Kagome said with a determined look on her face.

"Sure," Inuyasha replied sarcastically, but he felt slightly comforted.

"Well, here we are," Inuyasha announced as he stopped and slid the door to his left open.

The room was dark and musty; obviously nobody had gone in here in years. There was a mat covered with a blanket, a chest, a bookcase completely filled with old books, and an ancient wooden desk with scrolls and papers strewn across it.

"Alright, I'll take the desk, Miroku take the bookcase and Sango take the chest," Kagome instructed.

"What about me?" Inuyasha asked.

"I thought you said this whole search was pointless," Kagome raised an eyebrow at him. Inuyasha looked away.

"It is, I just don't have anything better to do," Inuyasha huffed.

"That's fine, you can help me with the desk," Kagome said sweetly seeing through his lie. He wanted out of here too.

They all got to work. Sango didn't find anything in his chest so she went over to help Miroku at the bookcase.

"I haven't found anything helpful for you guys yet, but this book is really interesting. It's all about sutras, the different kinds of sutras and their different uses," Miroku told them.

"Maybe there is a type of sutra that will allow us to leave this place," Kagome said hopefully.

"Yeah right," Inuyasha grumbled as he read yet another useless scroll.

Kagome shot him a sour look and continued her search. If they were going to find something to get them out of here, they were going to have to read every last thing.

Several hours later they were all lying on the floor or leaning against the wall reading books. Inuyasha and Kagome had long ago finished the desk without any luck and moved on to the bookcase.

"I think I'm going to go bang my head against the wall," Inuyasha announced as he lay on his back with his left hand massaging his temples.

"Don't be so dramatic Inuyasha, it's not like it's that boring," Kagome sighed. Inuyasha rolled his head to the side so he was staring at her.

"Ok fine, it is a little boring, but do you want to spend the rest of eternity here?" Kagome questioned as she laid her book down after folding in the corner of the page she was on.

"Can we at least have a break?" Inuyasha complained.

"Yeah, I agree," Sango said putting down her book as well.

"Okay," Kagome gave in, "So, what do you guys want to do?"

"I don't know," Sango told them.

"How about we play Aggravation?" Miroku suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kagome agreed.

"Feh, whatever," Inuyasha responded.

"Good, I'll be back in fifteen. The game is at my house, so I have to run there to get it," Miroku explained.

"Alright," Kagome said.

Fifteen minutes later Miroku returned to find Sango and Kagome talking amongst themselves, having already explained the game to a clueless Inuyasha who was now fast asleep where he lay.

"I'm back," Miroku announced, "why don't you wake up Inuyasha, Kagome, while Sango and I get the game set up?"

Kagome got up and went over to Inuyasha kneeling in front of him.

"Wake up," Kagome told him as she poked his stomach.

Kagome poked him a few more times until she saw his eyes open, but then for some reason he blushed and looked away. Kagome cocked her head in confusion and upon seeing this Inuyasha blushed once more.

"I'm up," Inuyasha muttered, "so let's just go play the game."

"Ok," Kagome agreed and headed over to the game board after Inuyasha, "I call blue!"

"Green!" Sango called out.

"Orange!" Miroku yelled.

"I guess I'll be white," Inuyasha sighed.

-Five minutes into the game-

"Hey! Would you stop?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Stop what, jumping your pieces? That's part of the game Inuyasha," Kagome explained.

"Yeah, I know that," Inuyasha said still angry.

"Then what's your problem?" Kagome asked getting frustrated.

"You're the only one that keeps jumping my pieces!" Inuyasha told her.

"Yeah, because my piece was close enough to do it and Sango and Miroku's pieces are way behind ours," Kagome defended.

"So, it's not like I'm winning, you don't need to jump my pieces and send them back to the beginning," Inuyasha justified.

"I had to jump your piece because I rolled a six on the dice," Kagome retorted.

"Ahem!" Miroku cleared his throat, "Would you two stop bickering and just play?"

"Fine," Inuyasha sulked.

"Fine," Kagome pouted.

Miroku sighed and dropped his head into his hand. Sango just rolled her eyes at their immaturity.

-Two games later-

"Yay I win!" Sango cheered.

"Good job," Miroku complemented her smiling mischievously.

"Pervert!" Sango screamed smacking Miroku as she felt his hand reach her rear.

"I think we should get back to work," Kagome suggested.

"Yeah," Sango agreed.

For the next couple hours, the four of them continued to read through the books finding nothing that would even remotely help them.

"Well," Sango sighed, "I have to head home."

"Me too," Miroku told them.

"Alright, thanks for your help!" Kagome thanked them.

"See you tomorrow," Inuyasha said.

"Yeah later," Miroku called out as he and Sango left.

As soon as they left, Kagome and Inuyasha sat there in an awkward silence.

"Come on," Inuyasha started, "let's go have dinner, I'm starving."

"Alright," Kagome agreed and after setting their books down, they left for the kitchen in silence.

Inuyasha cooked soup for both of them to eat for dinner and they both remained quiet during the meal. They retired to their rooms after a quick goodbye.

Kagome sighed as she entered her bedroom. The manor seemed so empty when Sango and Miroku left. She didn't have anything to say to Inuyasha either so the rest of the night ended so awkwardly. She didn't like that so she decided tomorrow after Sango and Miroku left again, she would try to get Inuyasha to open up to her. With that thought in mind, Kagome fell into a dreamless sleep.

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Reviews are very much appreciated!


	3. Life and all its Questions

Disclaimer: Why must I write this still? I do not and will never own Inuyasha and co.

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The next morning Miroku and Sango arrived for breakfast again except this time Sango carried a big box.

"Ooh, Life, I love that game!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Me too," Sango agreed, "I figured we'd need another game break today, so I came prepared."

"Good thinking!" Kagome told her with a smile.

Breakfast passed relatively quickly as Kagome and Sango chatted and Miroku teased Inuyasha by insinuating all the things Inuyasha and Kagome could have done last night. Luckily Kagome and Sango weren't paying attention to Miroku or he would be unconscious on the floor. Inuyasha tried to ignore Miroku as he ate his breakfast, but by the time everyone was finished, his face was beet-red from embarrassment and anger.

"Shut up already!" Inuyasha burst out. Kagome and Sango turned to look at him. One look at Inuyasha's red face made them instantly curious.

"Shut up about what?" Sango questioned.

"About his living situation with K…" Miroku started smiling mischievously before being cut off by Inuyasha.

"Nothing," Inuyasha ground out shooting Miroku a death glare.

"No, really, I want to know," Sango persisted.

"It's none of your business," Inuyasha growled.

"Won't you please tell us Inuyasha?" Kagome pouted.

"No," Inuyasha said sounding less severe than he wanted too.

"Please?" Kagome continued to pout.

"I'll tell you Kagome," Miroku said, "I was asking Inuyasha wh—" He began before Inuyasha punched him in the head.

"Oh no you don't!" Inuyasha interjected cracking his knuckles as a further threat.

"Maybe we should get back to the books in the Priest's room now," Kagome suggested, giving up on whatever conversation Inuyasha was trying to keep secret.

"Might as well," Sango concurred; she would ask Miroku later and then tell Kagome.

They set off back to the Priest's room. A question popped into Kagome's head as they passed Sesshomaru's room.

"Hey Inuyasha, how come we never see Sesshomaru?" Kagome wondered.

"Because he doesn't like to hang around with those that he thinks are lower than him. He eats after us and avoids being in the same room that we're in at all times," Inuyasha sneered, a scowl gracing his features.

"Oh, so what does he do all day?" Kagome asked.

"Who knows? He probably reads or something, that's the only thing you can really do here," Inuyasha replied with a shrug.

They arrived in the Priest's room and after Sango set down the game of Life, they all resumed reading the books they began yesterday.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha sighed loudly for the billionth time.

"Inuyasha, do you mind?" Sango growled, "I'm trying to read here!"

"No, I don't mind," Inuyasha goaded her, hoping she would put up a good argument so that he wouldn't be so bored anymore.

Sango gritted her teeth together, but kept silent knowing that answering him wouldn't help anything.

Inuyasha started whistling random tunes as he looked around the room. His book lay discarded next to him.

"Okay," Kagome smacked her hand against the wood floor, making a loud noise to get everyone's attention, "I understand we all aren't exactly enjoying ourselves—"

"Cough cough Inuyasha cough cough," Miroku cut in.

"So I figure," Kagome continued as if Miroku hadn't interrupted her, "that we can skim the books, but really read the parts where it says anything about sealing and spells. Does that sound good to you guys? This way we can get through the books faster and ignore some of the books on the shelf."

"Sounds good," Sango agreed, "Why don't we keep going a while longer and then play Life?"

"How about we play now?" Inuyasha modified her plan.

"Good idea Sango," Kagome replied before turning to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, stop acting like a child! You should be all for reading these books anyway, you've been stuck here longer than I have."

Inuyasha merely rolled his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm ready for a game of Life," Kagome said, "What about you guys?"

"Finally!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"I'm ready too!" Sango agreed.

"Count me in," Miroku told them.

Sango and Kagome quickly set up the board while Miroku took the job of explaining Life to Inuyasha. Kagome volunteered to be the banker and she swiftly dealt out the loans of forty-thousand dollars that everyone needed since they all were going to college first. To figure out what order they would go in, they all spun the spinner once. Whoever got the highest number went first. The order ended up being Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, and then Miroku.

"Okay, let's start," Kagome said cheerfully.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I hope I get a good job," Kagome crossed her fingers before grabbing a career card, "Teacher, yay!"

"That's a stupid career," Inuyasha scoffed.

"That explains your intellect," Kagome muttered.

"Hey! I heard that," Inuyasha yelled.

"Oh, sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" Kagome asked sarcastically.

Inuyasha glared before taking his own turn. He stopped for the Job Search.

"Hah! Police officer! Better watch your spins or you're going to have to pay me five-thousand dollars!" Inuyasha cheered.

"Ugh!" Everyone groaned at the same time.

"Athlete, cool," Sango said content with her job.

"Doctor, hmm. Sango, dearest, as an athlete you must be in good shape so why don't you come see me and I'll make sure you're healthy," Miroku suggested before adding, "I'll give you a check-up free of charge."

"Not in your life, you damn pervert!" Sango shouted smacking Miroku upside the head.

As Kagome took her next turn she passed a Pay Day and realized that they had forgotten to choose their salaries.

"Eighty-thousand, that's pretty good," Kagome approved as she saw her salary.

"What, I want to pick again!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "I am so not going to have only a thirty-thousand dollar salary!"

"Too bad Inuyasha, stop complaining. It was the luck of the draw and your luck just sucked," Sango reprimanded.

Inuyasha looked over at her salary card, "Uh! You're just saying that because you have the one hundred thousand dollar salary! This is so unfair!"

"Life isn't fair, Inuyasha. Haven't you heard that before?" Kagome questioned.

"Don't worry Inuyasha, I'm with you. I only got a fifty-thousand dollar salary," Miroku patted Inuyasha on the shoulder.

"Argh! You still get twenty-thousand dollars more than me!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Moving on," Kagome muttered as she took her turn.

The game continued and they stopped to Get Married.

"Sango, my love, will you marry me?" Miroku asked.

"NO!" Sango shouted and then grabbed Miroku's car. She was in charge of adding people to the car when necessary. Sango stuck in the small figure and put his car back.

"Thank you dearest Sango," Miroku started, "but I think you had a little mix-up. You see, you put a blue figure in the car next to me." Inuyasha and Kagome snickered.

"Yes Miroku, I'm not color blind, I can see what color person I put in your car," Sango replied.

"But Sango, I'm not gay!" Miroku answered.

"You could've fooled me," Sango said coolly as she picked up his car and replaced the passenger blue figure with a pink one.

Miroku was still sulking by the time they had to stop for Buy A House.

"Aw, I got a cute Country Cottage; it's the perfect price too!" Kagome cheered.

"What? A Split-Level! What did I do to deserve this?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Hey, at least you can afford it on your salary," Miroku teased. A glare from Inuyasha quickly shut him up.

"I didn't do much better," Sango commented, "A Mobile Home isn't really what you would call luxurious."

"Yeah, my Beach House would have been good if it didn't just wipe out most of my money," Miroku complained, "Not to mention it's only fifty yards from Monsoon Beach and the roof of the house is blowing away in the picture."

They all rolled their eyes.

The game continued without much complaint, but that soon ended with the help of Inuyasha.

"For the love of—!" Inuyasha threw his hands up in frustration.

"What is it now Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

"First I land on Baby Girl, now I land on Twins! What's with all the kids?" Inuyasha complained.

"What are you whining about Inuyasha, every time you land on those you get a life card that gives you money," Kagome explained.

"Really?" Inuyasha asked, perplexed.

"Yep," Sango said as she handed him two life cards.

"Cool, let's see. Pulitzer Prize $100,000 and Save Endangered Species $200,000. Awesome!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

They took their turns until again, it reached Inuyasha. He spun.

"Wait a second, Kagome did you just spin a ten on your turn?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah," Kagome answered.

"Hah! Pay up then! Five-thousand dollars for speeding!" Inuyasha looked triumphant.

"Too late for that Inuyasha, it doesn't count once the next person takes their turn and you already spun," Kagome gloated.

"What? That's not fair!" Inuyasha burst out.

"You should have been paying more attention Inuyasha," Miroku chuckled.

"Ugh, this is so stupid!" Inuyasha mumbled.

The game progressed and they had almost reached the end.

"Trade salary card with any player," Inuyasha read, "Yes! Sango, trade."

"Ugh, fine, I hate those stupid spaces," Sango grumbled as she grudgingly handed over her salary card and took Inuyasha's, "This better not make me lose!"

"Don't worry Sango, it won't really affect you since we're right at the end anyway," Kagome reassured her.

The game finally ended after a few more turns and they all counted their money. Kagome seemed happy, Sango looked giddy, Miroku sighed, and Inuyasha's face seemed to fall each time he re-counted his little amount of money trying to pass off the small number as an error. They announced their total and it seemed like Sango won with Kagome in second, Miroku in third, and Inuyasha last.

Inuyasha threw his money down, "This game is stupid!"

"Don't be so pessimistic just because you lost," Kagome chastised.

Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms.

The four went back to the books and had only been reading for an hour or so when Sango and Miroku excused themselves saying it was late. Inuyasha and Kagome once again headed back to the kitchen for dinner silently, but Kagome was furtively thinking of ways to get Inuyasha to open up. As they began to eat their dinner, a light bulb lit up above Kagome's head, figuratively speaking.

"So, Inuyasha, why don't we play a little game?" Kagome suggested.

"What kind of game?" Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

"Well, I'll ask you a question about yourself and then you ask me a question about myself. We'll go back and forth," Kagome knew her idea wasn't that creative, but it was the only way she could think of getting Inuyasha to possibly open up.

"What if I don't want to answer a question?" Inuyasha asked, still suspicious.

"We'll each get three questions that we can say no comment and it doesn't count if you reword the question a different way," Kagome explained the rules, making them up as she went.

"Ok, we can try," Inuyasha agreed.

"Alright!" Kagome cheered, "I'll start. Hmm, let's start simple. What's your favorite color?"

"That's easy, it's red. What about you, what's your favorite color?" Inuyasha replied.

"Blue of course," Kagome answered, "How old are you, technically?"

"I just turned eighteen years old before I was trapped in here. You?" Inuyasha responded.

"Seventeen. Is Sesshomaru your only sibling?" Kagome questioned.

"Yes, what about you?" Inuyasha asked.

"I have a younger brother named Souta. I was chasing after him when I got trapped in here," Kagome paused, glaring a bit at Inuyasha before continuing, "Did you have any pets?" Kagome wondered.

"No, what about you?" Inuyasha inquired.

"I have a cat named Buyo. What do you like to do?" Kagome speculated what it could be, not reading for sure!

"I don't really know, fighting I guess," Inuyasha thought about it, "Let me guess, you like to read."

"No, I like to sing, but only when others aren't listening," Kagome confessed.

"Why?" Inuyasha was interested, she always seemed so confident.

"I don't really know if I'm a good singer or not and I wouldn't really be comfortable asking someone if I was because I love to sing and if someone told me I wasn't good at it, I wouldn't sing from fear someone would hear," Kagome explained.

Inuyasha was just about to ask her if she would sing for him one day, but Sesshomaru choose this moment to enter the kitchen.

"Do you mind? I would like to eat sometime tonight, preferably before midnight," Sesshomaru said coolly, his eyes boring in to them.

"Well, I'm getting tired anyway," Kagome said before a yawn escaped, adding effect to her words, "We can talk more tomorrow."

The two swiftly cleaned up their dishes and after a quick goodnight, headed off to their own rooms.

Kagome stretched and then curled back up under the blankets. Today was fun and even though she hadn't learned what she really wanted to know about Inuyasha, it was a start. He seemed interested towards the end of the questions, so maybe tomorrow she'd be able to get some real answers out of him. Kagome drifted off to sleep to a dream starring Inuyasha.

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Feed me. I'm hungry for reviews! (Is that weird to write? haha, I don't know but whatever! XP)


	4. Secrets of the Passageway

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha. Imagine that!

* * *

After a quick check for Inuyasha in his room, Kagome headed for the kitchen. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed Sesshomaru heading in the opposite direction, most likely going to his room, with a hand full of books.

"Good morning," Kagome greeted giving a small wave.

Sesshomaru glanced in her direction, but kept walking without making a comment.

Right before Kagome slid open the door to the kitchen, Sesshomaru finally replied, "Morning human."

Once in the kitchen Kagome saw Inuyasha cooking some eggs as usual.

"Extra hungry this morning?" Kagome questioned.

"Huh?" Inuyasha asked.

"You're cooking a lot more eggs than usual," she pointed out.

"They're your eggs," Inuyasha answered.

"Thanks," Kagome said with a smile.

"It's just because it's stupid to not cook all the eggs at once, that's all," Inuyasha quickly defended as he stared intently at the sizzling eggs, a faint blush dusting his features.

"Still, I appreciate it," Kagome maintained.

Inuyasha's face reddened further, but Kagome didn't notice on account of Sango and Miroku's entrance.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"How many more books are left?" Inuyasha whined as he shut the book he just finished skimming.

"Just one shelf full," Kagome replied absently.

"Ugh, none of these books are even helping," Inuyasha groaned as he put the book back in and grabbed another off the shelf.

"I know, but we can't give up hope," Kagome agreed in a saddened tone as she went for another book as well, "Besides, I think we can skip the rest of the books on the shelf."

"We can?" Sango asked confused.

"Yeah, the rest of the books look like they are just about psychology," Kagome explained.

"Cool," Miroku commented smiling cheerfully, "One step closer to finding a way out."

"We went through only one room with no luck whatsoever," Inuyasha deadpanned, "We're not closer to anything unless it's dying of boredom."

"Seriously Inuyasha, you need to stop being so pessimistic already," Kagome complained.

Seconds later, a beeping noise seemed to emit from Sango. Quickly grabbing her cell phone, she flipped it open. After a minute, she clipped the phone back onto her pants and got up, stretching her muscles once she had done so.

"Mom wants me to help cook dinner," Sango told them, "I'll see you guys tomorrow and don't worry Kagome, you'll get out of here soon, I promise."

"Thanks Sango," Kagome said giving her a smile.

After a quick smile back, Sango was out the door with Miroku right behind her waving goodbye with one hand and reaching forward with the other. The inevitable sound of someone being slapped radiated into the room the two just left.

"He held out pretty long today," Inuyasha commented glancing at Kagome.

"I'm surprised. I didn't think he could go almost a whole day without groping Sango," Kagome agreed before continuing, "He better lose his perverted ways in the future though, or else he's going to be some old guy going around and touching the bottoms of young girls and that's just gross!"

At this Kagome scrunched up her nose, unintentionally visualizing it. She shuddered before looking up to see Inuyasha staring at her.

"What?" she questioned, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Eh?" Inuyasha snapped out of his daze.

"Why were you staring at me?" Kagome asked.

The blood rushed to Inuyasha's face as he realized that he had been openly staring at her and just got caught. He hadn't meant to, but the way she looked when she scrunched her nose caught his attention. It looked so cute. Realizing what he just thought, the light sheen of red that had come to his face intensified.

"Feh, I wasn't looking at you. My mind wandered and I just happened to be looking in your direction," Inuyasha lied hoping that she wouldn't see through it.

"Okay," Kagome dragged out the word, not sure if he was telling the truth or not.

"I bet I can beat you to the kitchen," Inuyasha challenged, swiftly changing the topic as he jumped up and started heading for the door.

Kagome immediately jumped up and raced after him already formulating a plan. She was a pretty good runner and if she won, she could get Inuyasha to owe her a favor. Forcing her muscles to work harder, she sprinted up to Inuyasha who, upon noticing how fast she was approaching, sped up. Up ahead the hallway formed a T in which the two would have to take a right. Inuyasha spotted this and slowed down slightly so that he wouldn't ram into the wall while trying to turn. Kagome took advantage of his slower pace as she darted in front of him. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to turn the corner and instead slammed into the wall, but instead of Kagome bouncing back off the wall, the portion of the wall that she hit swung open to reveal a dark passageway in which you could barely make out a set of stairs leading downward, a set of stairs that Kagome was about to fall down!

Inuyasha instinctively reached forward wrapping one arm around Kagome's waist and the other around her shoulders before pulling her forward into a hug, restoring Kagome's balance. Kagome was clutching Inuyasha's shirt and resting her head on his chest. They were panting from the exertion and both of their hearts were beating frantically. However, their heartbeats increased even more once they realized the position that they were in.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha questioned as he slowly released her small frame.

"Yeah," Kagome let out a shaky breath, a light sheen of red still dusting her face. "So, um, what's down there?"

Inuyasha followed her pointing finger to the ominous looking doorway leading into the black abyss.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to find out," Inuyasha's face grew serious as he peered down the stairwell, eyes straining to pick out any detail that would clue him to what the pathway held.

Padding forward, he placed one foot delicately on the stairwell, exerting pressure after a moment to test the stair's durability. Satisfied that it would hold their weight, he started forward into the pathway, pausing when Kagome yelled out.

"Can't we get a flashlight before we go down there?" Kagome shifted nervously, still standing before the doorway.

"Flashlight? Keh, whatever that is, we don't have one here. So, are you coming or what?" Inuyasha asked, one eyebrow raised.

Kagome was about to ask if they could wait for Sango and Miroku to get one tomorrow, but held back. Inuyasha didn't look like he was going to want to wait to see what this staircase led to. Nodding in defeat, Kagome tentatively stepped onto the first step, then the next. The hallway they had come from offered little light and Kagome could barely make out the outline of Inuyasha a mere step in front of her. As if sensing her dilemma, she felt a calloused hand reach back and grab her hand. Her blush came back full force, but she was content to know that he wouldn't be able to see it. A small smile formed on her lips and she couldn't help but feel safe even though they were wandering down this dark staircase that could lead to anywhere.

It didn't take long before they reached the bottom of the staircase and as they walked the first step forward, a wick burst into flame on either side of them, illuminating a small area. Kagome, after getting over the initial shock of the sudden combustion, recognized the light fixtures as similar ones that had lit on their own the first time she had entered this manner. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, his face was serious and she could feel that he was tense. It gave her goose bumps. If Inuyasha was this on edge then this hallway they now stood in couldn't lead to anything good. They continued forward, their footsteps much slower as the hallway became more lit up with each set of fixtures that spontaneously combusted upon their approach. They stopped when they reached a thick wooden door, it's whole frame covered in wisps of cobwebs.

"There's no doorknob," Kagome stated with shock, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"We don't need a doorknob," Inuyasha sounded smug and before she could wonder what he meant by that, he had kicked the door.

The door broke off it's hinges easily as the wood had become so rotted it was not able to handle much pressure. The room beyond the door lit up in response to their entrance. Their eyes widened at what they saw. Strange markings marred the walls and the floor, covering every inch of space available while papers and sutras littered the floor. Kagome turned to Inuyasha, her eyes questioning.

"Dark magic," Inuyasha muttered, his voice thick with disgust, "and some extremely foul stuff at that."

Releasing his hold on Kagome's hand, she watched as Inuyasha walked to the other side of the room, squatting down to examine some of the discarded papers scattered around. She walked forward uncertainly, studying the strange markings on the ground. There were mainly symbols that she couldn't understand, but she could swear there were also kanji characters mixed in, yet for some odd reason she couldn't seem to read those either. The markings seemed to get closer together and more abundant the closer she got to the middle of the room, but before she could mention her finding to Inuyasha, she felt her breath knocked out her. Kagome's body began pulsing in response and she began to panic. Sucking in a lungful of oxygen, she attempted to shout out Inuyasha's name, but her breath became stuck in her throat. With each pulse she could feel her heartbeat, a more pronounced feeling than normal. Suddenly she felt a searing pain in her right side and she gasped as she saw a small red stain seep through the white dress she'd been stuck in since Halloween. A glow began to shine through her dress and soon her dress began to tear right above the wound. As the pain rolled through her body, she saw a small, pink sphere pop out from between the tear in her dress. She tried to maintain consciousness as the pulses began to fade, but her mind felt so fuzzy. As her world slowly faded to black, Kagome managed to see a shocked Inuyasha running towards her, worry written all over his face, and she could've sworn she vaguely heard him calling out her name.

But then the world was gone and she was left in a pitch-black void.

XXXXXXXXXX

Pain. Pain scorched once more in her side and she squirmed in discomfort against the hands that held her in place before falling back into the void that promised her a sense of numbness.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gentle hands placed something on her forehead that had a cool, yet damp feeling. It comforted her somewhat and she faded back into the darkness.

XXXXXXXXXX

A calloused hand was placed on her forehead, the coolness against her hot skin was welcomed and she almost whined when she felt it disappear. But only a moment later she felt a thumb, gently stroking her cheek calming her instantly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Her world faded in and out of consciousness so often that she couldn't tell if she was dreaming of the golden eyes that seemed to appear so frequently.

XXXXXXXXXX

As everything came in focus, Kagome noted she was lying on the mat in the room she had been staying in. Rolling her head to the side, she was shocked to find Inuyasha's face mere inches away from her own. Holding in her gasp of surprise, she noticed that he was sleeping. His face was smooth and held a gentleness that she hadn't thought he had. She saw a strand of hair that had fallen over his face and resisted pushing it out of the way. What if he woke up? Biting her lip, she contemplated whether to do it or not. But the hair lying in his face seemed to bother her so she gave in and reached out to brush the strand back. Her hand paused on his cheek, brushing the hair away slowly. Her movements halted once more, froze actually, as his eyelids slowly opened revealing the golden depths beneath. They stayed like that for a second, each trying to process what was happening, before Kagome yanked her hand back, trying to look anywhere but at him. He saw her face turn a shade of red he hadn't thought possible and idly wondered if that was how red his face was right now.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to ignore what he just awoken to for a topic that was much easier for him to handle, "So, feeling better then?"

"I think so," Kagome managed to squeak, half surprised he hadn't said anything to her about her hand being on his cheek, "Wha…what exactly happened? My mind still feels a little fuzzy so I can't quite remember anything from that room earlier except for this feeling of pain."

"Three days ago," Inuyasha muttered as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"What?" Kagome asked, "What are you talking about?"

"When we went into that room; it was three days ago," Inuyasha's head was tilted down but she could see him peering up through his bangs at her, worry evident in his eyes.

"Oh," Kagome felt like the breath was knocked out of her

Had she really been that out of it?

"I don't really know what it was that happened, all I know is that all of a sudden you were bleeding and this shining jewel popped out of your body. You had fallen unconscious so I brought you back to your room, but then I had to…uh…take care of your…uh…wound," Inuyasha's face grew redder as each word came out.

Kagome understood perfectly and she was sure the color of her face mirrored his.

"I didn't see anything!" Inuyasha exclaimed before rushing the rest of his explanation in an attempt to finish as quickly as possible, "I knew I couldn't lift your dress to get to your wound so I did the best I could through the tear in your dress. I was able to patch up the wound, but I couldn't clean around it. It looked really deep, your wound that is, that's why I think you were so out of it. Your body was working so hard to heal all the muscles and skin the stupid jewel ripped through causing you to have a fever for the past three days."

Kagome soaked in all that Inuyasha had just told her, "Where's the jewel now?"

"Right here," Inuyasha picked up the jewel from the floor on the other side of him, holding it out to Kagome.

She took the jewel from him, eyes peering into its depth. She felt this pull from it, as if it was pulling her towards it, almost into it. A shiver ran up her spine as she wrenched her eyes away from the orb. The feeling she got from the jewel made her believe that this orb was powerful, more powerful than she could ever imagine. The question was, why was it inside of her body?

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Please please please review. I will love you forever if you do! (This is sad. I'm starting to sound desperate...)


	5. Closer to the Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and co. already!

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"Did you find anything in the room before you saw me collapse?" Kagome asked, drawing her eyes away from the jewel.

"Yeah, actually," Inuyasha responded looking as if he had forgotten about it, "There were a lot of scrolls on the ground, but there was this one that caught my attention. It had what looked like some sort of spell on it. Maybe it's what Kikyo used to trap me in here. Plus, her scent, though quite faded by time, is all over that room. No one else's scent lingered in there so I'm figuring it's her own secret room to practice dark magic."

Kagome nodded absently, thinking for a moment or two before replying, "I think we should go check it out."

"Right now?" Inuyasha asked, looking at her like she was crazy, "You just woke up three days after getting that thing ripped out of your side and you already want to go back into that room?"

Kagome merely nodded, but her stomach took that moment to growl quite loudly.

"I don't think so. Let's get you something to eat first," Inuyasha helped her to her feet just incase she was still in pain.

Kagome kept her mouth shut, too embarrassed by her traitorous stomach.

XXXXXXXXX

As she sat nibbling on her food, Kagome decided that she hadn't found out about a lot of things she was dying to know about Inuyasha. Hopefully he'd be worn out enough from taking care of her and worrying about her so that he wouldn't get angry or defensive at her for asking a lot of questions.

"Inuyasha," she began, "There's something I've been wondering for a while. Why is it that Kikyo trapped you in here in the first place?"

He looked at her briefly before looking down at the floor, as if questioning whether he should answer her or not. "Back before I got stuck in here, before I met Kikyo, I was living close to this village, or I guess it's called a town now, but it was just a little bit away on the hill overlooking the village. Do you know where I mean?"

Kagome nodded. It seems she's been doing that a lot today but she didn't want to say anything to make Inuyasha stop.

"I lived there with my father, mother, and my half brother who you know as Sesshomaru. Kikyo, on the other hand, did not live there, but when the priest came to this newly built manor with plans to train those with spiritual powers, she, along with many others, came here to learn under him. It wasn't long after that we met and somehow we ended up as friends, of sorts. We weren't close by any means, but we talked a couple times a week. I didn't really have anybody else I was particularly friends with. After a while, there were more and more demon attacks on our village. You see, my father was a powerful lord who ruled over the Western lands and as a result of his position he was bound to make several enemies. Demons came in hordes each time, but my family along with the priests and priestesses in training fought them off easily. We couldn't tell who was sending the demons to attack or why but my dad sent out some people to look into it.

"While this was going on, I spent a lot more time in the village. That way, I would be close in case of any more attacks. As a result, I spent more time with Kikyo. She seemed really nervous about all the recent attacks, paranoid almost. I didn't understand her fear. We were perfectly capable of protecting the village and eventually we'd get to the bottom of the attacks, but even still, she worried. One day, we were talking near the manor when she suggested we head there. She said she wanted to show me something. On the way, she told me how there were demon attacks on nearby villages and all of the priest and priestesses were heading there to protect them seeing as my family could protect our village well enough. She took me to a back room. It looked like it was never used and I waited for her to show me something. But she was just standing in front of me, looking, I don't even know, maybe regretful. Kikyo said that if things went wrong, the village would be in a lot of danger,_ I_ would be in a lot of danger. I brushed it off. I knew I was powerful enough that I wouldn't be killed so easily. But still, I was starting to get this nagging feeling about being in that room with her, especially with the way she was acting.

"That was the day I got sealed in this place. She turned around and left the room. I followed but she closed the door in my face and when I tried to open it, it repelled me back. I heard her chanting some nonsense, most likely the spell, outside the door and I started yelling for her to let me out. She ignored me. After a few minutes, she paused, muttered, 'You'll be safe here. When I get back from the other village, I'll unseal you,' and left. I tried to open the door again, but it still sent me back with an electrifying shock. A day later, a monk opened the door. Turns out he was one of Miroku's ancestors. Kikyo, who was passing through on her way to the other village, sent him to bring me food. Him and Sango's family moved to our village them. I've been here ever since," Inuyasha finished, his shoulders slumping as if recalling it all had put a weight on him.

Kagome was quiet, taking in all that he said.

Abruptly, she saw Inuyasha's face contort in anger, his hands forming into fists, "That damn bitch betrayed our friendship and trapped me in here to keep me safe from absolutely nothing! Nothing happened to the village. The person sending the attacks on the village was found right after all the priests and priestesses, including Kikyo, got killed. Apparently it had been a trap. The enemy thought that if he could kill them, he'd weaken our defense and it'd be that much easier to get to my dad. He planned on taking over. But after it was found out who the enemy was, my dad sent out some demons loyal to him and they took him out easy. But here I've been, stuck in this godforsaken manor, unable to grow older and live my life, but instead cursed to sit for eternity knowing what kind of life I could've led!" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome remained silent. What do you say to that? There was nothing she could really do to change the past, but she could find a way out of here for the both of them.

"Look at it this way. If you weren't trapped here, you would've never met me," Kagome joked with a smile hoping to lighten the mood.

"Keh," Inuyasha's lips quirked as he let out a chuckle, "Finish eating wench. You're food's probably cold by now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure you want to go back there today? Shouldn't you rest some more? You only just woke up today," Inuyasha worried, hovering over her as she walked determinedly towards the still opened paneling that led to the hidden room.

"I'm fine, Inuyasha. I think after not being conscious for three days that I've had enough sleep for a while," Kagome gave him a wry smile, "Besides, we might find the way to undo the spell down there. It seems like a good place to hide a secret spell."

"Feh, what was your first clue?" Inuyasha stepped in front of her and led down the pathway until they reached the room. It looked the same as the last time she saw it. Taking a tentative step inside, Kagome waited for anything strange to happen. Inuyasha seemed to be waiting as well, watching her as if at any moment she'd collapse. Steeling her shoulders, Kagome walked over to where she saw Inuyasha looking last time.

"Over here, right? That's where you said you'd seen the spell?" Kagome asked, squatting down to study the scrolls.

"Yeah," Inuyasha confirmed, coming over to join her, "It was this one right…here."

Picking the scroll up, Kagome scanned its contents. "This one's not it, but it is a spell. From what I got from it, it's some sort of spell to summon a demon to do your bidding. Seems like Kikyo was getting into some pretty dark things, things she might not have been able to control."

"Summoning?" Inuyasha seemed perplexed, "What the hell would she need to summon a demon for? And how the hell did none of the priests and priestesses figure out there was a dark priestess in their midst and practicing right beneath their feet?"

"Well these all seem like pretty strong, complex spells," Kagome commented as she studied a different spell, "She probably had some sort of barrier around this room to protect it from outsiders."

"Then why were we able to get in here?" Inuyasha raised a brow at her.

"I don't know; I'm not a priestess. Maybe the barrier could only be maintained as long as she was alive," Kagome guessed.

Inuyasha nodded, "That makes sense. So…how're we supposed to know which spell is the one that will release us?"

"Um," Kagome bit her lip, "Look for anything that says anything about sealing or release or both."

"Alright. I'll look through the scrolls in the center of the room. You just stay on the outskirts. We don't need a repeat of last time," Inuyasha ordered.

"Aw, Inuyasha. I'm glad to know that you care. It's sweet, really," Kagome smiled cheekily at him.

"Keh…no…what?" Inuyasha fumbled, "I…no…shut up."

Kagome giggled into her hand, waiting until she caught her breath to continue searching through all the scrolls.

It was a tedious job. There were at least one hundred scrolls littering the floor and Kagome was afraid to skim them lest she pass up the one that could actually release them.

After around twenty minutes of looking, a thought occurred to Kagome, "Hey Inuyasha, what ever happened to Miroku and Sango?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha looked up from the scroll in his hands, "Oh, Sango and Miroku are in school. The only reason they were here for those two days was because it was the weekend. Don't you go to school too? I heard everyone does nowadays."

"School, yeah. I do. It's just…I've felt really distant from all those things lately so I kind of forgot," Kagome felt so confused, "It's only been five days, three of those being when I was unconscious? It seems like it's been so much longer."

"I know what you mean," Inuyasha concurred looking more serious and thoughtful than she had ever seen, "It seems like you've been here forever. I can't remember what it was like without you here."

Kagome was shocked by his admittance and she was sure he was too as his face all of a sudden started to turn red, "Keh, I mean. You've been annoying me so much that I can scarcely remember not being nagged at constantly."

"Why you! Why must you insult me every time you say something nice?" Kagome marched over to him angrily, shoving an accusing finger into his chest.

"Doesn't matter; I can say whatever the hell I want to say and there's nothing you can do about it!" Inuyasha yelled right back, crossing his arms and not budging an inch.

"Argh! You're just so…so…so—" Kagome searched for the word.

"So what?" Inuyasha prompted, looking a bit smug, "You don't even know what you're saying!"

"Infuriating! You're so infuriating!" Kagome shouted before huffing and turning around and shuffling through the scrolls on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha sighed, losing some of his heat.

"Obviously I'm looking for that spell so that I can get out of here and out of your way as soon as possible," Kagome explained, voice cold and clipped.

Inuyasha didn't respond and Kagome continued blindly rifling through the spells. Things had been going so well. She had felt closer to Inuyasha and despite only knowing him for barely five days, she found herself attracted to him. But then he would turn around and put his foot in his mouth and screw it all up. She stopped her pointless shuffling as Inuyasha slowly moved away from her to start on the scrolls in a different area. She expelled her breath slowly, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath. Even though the fight wasn't her fault, she'd try to fix things later. She didn't want to fight with him. It only made being trapped here harder. Besides, she had a feeling he had a bad habit of speaking before he thought and saying things he didn't mean to say. Now she would just focus on finding the spell to release them.

* * *

shorter than i had planned, but still over 2000 words which is my minimum to post.

Anyway, please review. I would sincerely appreciate the feedback. ^.^


	6. The End

It is a sad, sad thing to say, but I am most likely never going to finish this story. I can't bring myself to take it down or delete it because maybe one day I'll feel like continuing it or improving what's already written, but for now I'm going to have to say that is not going to be anytime soon. So, this story will be on an indefinite Hiatus.

**But, one thing I want to do is open up the option for someone to rewrite and/or finish the story. If you would like to do so, please shoot me a message. I would also like to read where you take the story. :)**

I am sorry for those of you who were really looking for an ending. I may or may not have said I would never give up on it, but I feel like the writing of this story is not really great writing and I could not continue it without rewriting it. I have neither the time or the patience to do that at the moment. I have been working the most on my newest story Cursed Soul and I feel like the writing is so much better (not super amazing, mind you, just very much improved), the plot has much more to it (and much more direction that Ignorance is Bliss), and the characterization and interaction and emotions are just so much better and realistic. (If you check it out, you'll definitely see the difference right away.) It is a shame and I am sorry that I am not continuing it, but I think we all have one of those stories we just can't bring ourselves to finish. I'm never in the mood to write it and it would be more of a chore than anything. I don't want to force bad writing on you guys or a poorly developed story.

**Once again, if you want to continue it, just private message me and I'll gladly give you reins to do so. I have no problem with multiple people finishing it either as long as you're still respectful to my original story. Thank you.**


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